All students in Levels 1 & 2 must be at least 9 years old at the start of the course, and 12 years old for Levels 3 & 4. Adults are welcome. All students must be able to swim, and will be tested.

Registration is a two-step process:

1) Notify by email, acoffey@telus.net, the name of the student(s) immediately after 8 AM Pacific Time on May 1st. The email should contain the following information: the names of the registrant(s) and 1st/2nd choice of the week. As a backup, Allyson may be contacted at (604) 220-7259.

2) Registration forms will then be sent for your completion and return within 10 days along with instructions for eTransfer payments. The forms must be filled out and signed by a parent or legal guardian if the student is a minor. Payment of the course fee of $160 can be made by e-Transfer to our Treasurer Rick Mudie at (leonamudie@telus.net) or by leaving a cheque at the Dockside Real Estate office at the Driftwood Plaza or by regular mail to 2727 Anchor Way, Pender Island, BC V0N 2M2.

For more information please see the PIJSA article in the Pender Post, or contact Bruce Waygood: “kbwaygood@shaw.ca”, Tel: (250) 818- 8555.

It is shaping up to be a great summer and we look forward to welcoming you to Pender. Thanks to a further expansion of the fleet, we currently have the following course availability as of July 10th. Level 1&2 courses use a FlyingJunior while advanced levels 3&4 use Lasers.

Level 1 &2

Level 3 & 4

July 16 to 20

3

3

July 30 to August 3

2

4

August 6 to 10

1

3

August 20 to 24

0

2

Please contact our Registrar, Allyson Coffey, at acoffey@telus.net if you or your friends are interested in being on the pristine waters that surround our island.

Our courses have been popular with children from Pender, visitors, and summer residents. While we traditionally identify with kids, adults are always welcome in all 4 of our course levels. Adults will generally be paired with another adult in levels 1&2 and should recognize that some agility is required.

PIJSA offers 4 levels of instruction – addressing different levels of student proficiency. Our curriculum is Sail Canada approved and taught by certified instructors. All successful candidates will receive a recognized certificate from the Canadian governing body.

The levels include CanSail 1 & 2 for beginners, taught using Flying Junior (FJ) boats. The FJs usually have 3 youths or 2 adults per boat.

Advanced sailors enrolled in CanSail 3 & 4 courses use a combination of single and dual-person Lasers.

Courses are held at the Browning Harbour beach on Monday through Friday at a cost of C$160. Please email Allyson Coffey at acoffey@telus.netfor registration.

The course dates for 2018 are July 16-20, July 30-Aug 3, Aug 6-10, and Aug 20-24. All courses are 5 days (Monday to Friday, 9AM to 3:30PM).

All students must demonstrate swimming proficiency while wearing a personal flotation device (life jacket) for about 50 meters and participate in the “righting a capsized boat” as both are safety issues. CanSail 1 & 2 students must be at least 9 years old when the course begins, and CanSail 3 & 4 participants must be 12 years and have passed CanSail 2.

The 2018 Course Dates are: July 16-20; July 30-Aug 3; Aug 6-10; Aug 20-24. All course levels (1-2-3-4) will be offered in each of the above weeks, providing maximum flexibility for our participants.

All students in Levels 1 & 2 must be at least 9 years old at the start of the course, and 12 years old for Levels 3 & 4. Adults are welcome. All students must be able to swim and will be tested.

Registration is a 3-step process for both the May 1st and May 15th registrations.

1) Notify by email, acoffey@telus.net, the name of the student(s) immediately after 8 am Pacific Time on May 1st/May 15th along with their course level, 1st/2nd preferred week-date and the email address of parent/legal guardian. As a backup, you can call Allyson Coffey immediately after 8:00 PT at: (604) 220-7259.

2) Registration forms will then be sent to above legal guardian for completion and return to the above email address within 10 days.

3) The Payment Process commences June 1st with an email sent to parents/guardians detailing payment alternatives for the course fee of C$160. Responding to past requests, this year we will include an e-payment option.

For more information please see the PIJSA article in the Pender Post, or contact Bruce Waygood: “kbwaygood@shaw.ca”, Tel: (250) 818- 8555.

2016 Course Dates

The CANSail 1 and 2 courses for junior/intermediate sailors will run on 3 separate weeks in July and August. These are combined courses – matching newcomers with seasoned sailors on each boat. In addition to level 1 and 2 courses, advanced sailors have a choice of 2 dates in August. These courses will run at the same time with separate instructors for the CANSail and Advanced groups.

For Junior/Intermediate Sailors

The 1st combined session will run from Monday July 11th to Friday July 15th.

The 2nd combined session will run from Monday August 1st to Friday August 5thth.

The 3rd combined session will run from Monday August 22nd to Friday August 26th.

For Advanced Sailors

The club will provide two weeks of advanced courses using Lasers (1 week for each course). These courses will use a separate instructor for the 5 boats of solo sailors.

The 1st Laser session will run from Monday August 1st to Friday August 5th.

The 2nd Laser session will run from Monday August 22nd to Friday August 26th.

Other Info

CANSail 1 and 2 groups will use Flying Junior boats while advanced sailors will use Lasers.

All groups will be taught by CANSail approved instructors.

For CANSail participants we combine more knowledgeable sailors with “newbies” (generally 3 persons per boat) to provide new comers with a guiding hand in the first few days. Our instructors are certified by BC Sailing under auspices of a national program. Junior and Intermediate sailors in the CANSail 1 and 2 programs will be evaluated on the Friday afternoon after our traditional picnic on Mortimer Spit. They are eligible for competency certificates from our national sailing organization.

The Advanced course taught on Laser sailboats relies on elements of the national program but has limited racing aspects. As a result, we do not offer nationally recognized certificates for participants.

Courses run from Monday to Friday inclusive.
* The Monday class starts at 9:00 AM to allow registration and runs until 3:00 PM.
* Tuesday through Friday courses run from 9:30 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon, with an hour off for lunch on the beach.

All courses are C$125 per week with registration on May 1st for all programs.

Another week and another great commencement. We had 9 boats and 18 sailors on the starting line for this week’s festivities. A dozen (largely novice) young sailors using Flying Junior boats were accompanied by a half dozen skilled denizens of the deep using our Lasers. To be fair, half the Lasers were being handled by first time skippers, so our complement of students overwhelmingly would have a “Learner/Novice” plaque affixed to their current mode of transportation.

Monday has become our swim test day and everyone attacked the waters with gusto. A local otter was wondering what the commotion was, but s(he) quickly scampered away in the face of 18 determined swimmers.

It was a challenging morning as winds were light and variable (aka fluky), leaving some of our newer sailors wondering what has happening to their propulsion systems – hehe. Despite the changeable winds, they performed admirably and had their vessels crossing in formation by the end of the first morning. Well done sailors!

Fine weather ushered in our final day on the water for this sailing group. Their strong performance throughout the week allowed our instructors to challenge all sailors to a multi-leg race to/from Mortimer Spit as the “grande finale” to the week. To add some spice, Laser sailors were required to beach the boats, circling them on foot AND completely roll/right their vessels on the water. It was destined to be a day of drama and fun, keeping our land-based Directors busy scanning the horizon while others manned our crash boat on the water. Things started with beach instruction on rigging a Laser II which, of course, our instructors snaffled as their preferred rig for the romp (providing them with an – ahem – slight advantage). Spectators enjoyed 10 boats mastering the breeze along some fine gymnastics to execute Laser rolls.

The race dispensed with, our hungry sailors arrived at Mortimer Spit for the traditional BBQ. They dispatched our goodies using the same precision targeting displayed in the race. “One up/one down” was the order of the day – keeping our parent and director volunteers more than a little busy satisfying pent up demand – lol. It was a fun filled hour where everyone gelled and relaxed before returning to the matter at hand … sailing in perfect weather in pristine waters.

And sail they did! Often the end of the week leaves tired sailors slowly de-rigging boats and returning them to their base. This group was still rocking with juniors being introduced to the advanced Laser boats thanks to our more experienced sailors guiding them. The sailing continued into the late afternoon with boats beached long after our instructors had left to return to Vancouver Island. It was an unmitigated blast for sailors and spectators …

Our sailors and parents have always been generous and fulsome with their praise for the efforts of the volunteer Board as well as our instructors. We were delighted when they handed instructors and the Board a card with well wishes at the conclusion of the week. Surprise turned to mild shock when our parents also donated funds to assist in refurbishing some of our boats. We will develop a work plan to put your generosity to best use over the winter! A huge thank you from all of us to each of you.